Ted sat at his seat, staring at the surveillance screens. He went to take a sip of his coffee when he suddenly stopped himself. Putting his mug down, he looked closer at one of the screens and saw a large group of people in black uniform standing outside the secret entrance to Pulvis in Ellis’ basement. One of them carried a small metal battering ram. Zooming in, he looked at them for a single second before understanding. He quickly picked up a phone and pressed a button. “We have MI5 agents on our way.” He said.

  “Again?” Ellis replied.

  “Yes. You have to prepare, this is not some small raid, it is going to be a bloodbath.”

  “Very well.” Ellis put the phone down and turned to Artificis. “We have to prepare for battle.”

  “So be it.” He replied. Getting up from his seat, he walked over to a scabbard laying in the corner of the office. He picked up the katana and went to walk over to Ellis.

  “Stop.”

  Artificis stopped in place.

  “You are safer here. I do not want to be responsible for getting you killed. You have helped people and I do not want to have to run this organisation by myself without you by my side. You're my father for crying out loud.”

  “I am not going to sit around whilst my men are slaughtered.” He told her firmly. “I am going to fight side by side and defeat these bastards whatever it takes. If you want to do something worthwhile, then at least fight with me.” Without saying anything else, he walked by her. Ellis groaned and sighed in frustration, but walked after him nevertheless. They walked through the organisation, seeing everyone arming themselves. A group of henchmen stood at the main entrance, waiting, their machine guns pointed in front of them. Suddenly, there was an explosion as smoke began to fill the corridors. Shots were instantly fired as the air was filled with gunfire. The agents converged on their enemies and fired their weapons. Some agents dropped and some henchmen dropped. Within moments, a slaughter began. One henchman fired his machine gun, taking down some agents, but was killed himself. Ellis crept around, sticking to the shadows and killed anyone that got too close to her. She swiped her sword, suddenly taking an arm and then swiped it again, taking her enemy’s head. Artificis slashed through his enemies like butter, his katana hacking through limbs and heads. He swiped at another enemy and blood splattered onto his suit, staining it. Some agents made their way across a bridge and stopped, facing their enemies. Both sides suddenly aimed their guns, firing upon one another. Within seconds, only one from either side remained. They both stared at each other, aiming their pistols. Suddenly, they both fired. The two bullets flew for their targets. One of them hit the agent in the face and he collapsed onto the platform. The second bullet hit the henchman in the shoulder and he collapsed, his momentum being rocked. He slipped, tried to grab the bridge, but fell into the abyss, his scream quickly fading away. A small group of agents crept around when Frank jumped out from behind a corner and fired his pistol, instantly killing all of them. He released the empty magazine and slotted a full one in, pulled the slide of the gun. He crept around, trying to find any enemies when suddenly, a fist made contact with his jaw. He dropped to the ground, unconscious. The agent went to execute him when a sword suddenly protruded itself out from his chest. He looked down at the bloody blade and spurted up blood as it was swiftly drawn out from him. The corpse dropped to the ground. Ellis dropped her stained sword and collapsed to her knees in front of Frank. She checked his pulse and then suddenly grabbed both of her hands together. Raising her fist, she brought it down onto his sternum. Checking his pulse again, she performed the chest compressions. Plugging his nose, she breathed into his mouth a couple of times. Frank suddenly gasped in a great lungful of air and winced in pain as he sat up. He looked around, getting his bearings straight and then looked at Ellis, slightly mad.

  “I think that you broke one of my ribs.” He said.

  “You are alive, are you not?”

  Staggering as he got up, he picked up his gun and they both continued forward. Ellis cut down more enemies, Frank shot more targets. Frank turned a corner and saw a group of agents. They aimed their guns at him and fired, just as he ducked back behind cover. He let out a breath and jumped out, firing his pistol. A bullet went through his shoulder and he collapsed to the ground. Sitting up, he fired his gun, killing his final target. He staggered up, bleeding, and looked down at his wound. He heard the continuous gunfire and the carnage that enveloped the organisation. His heart raced, his head pounded, his forehead had a bead of sweat on it. He made a dash for it. Taking a turn, he opened a door and stood in shock as he saw a large group of agents in front of him. The corridor was littered with corpses and the walls were splattered in blood. There were only tiny glimpses of the white floor beneath the giant pool of blood that the agents stood on. One corpse laid on the floor with its entrails hanging out, the victim of a close range shotgun blast. Frank went to fire, but the agents got there first and quickly gunned him down. Frank's body jerked and jarred about violently as the bullets tore through him. Ribbons of dark blood flew in the air like a gruesome ballet. The assassin collapsed to the floor, profusely bleeding out from the multiple mortal gunshot wounds. The agents stepped over his corpse, leaving bloody boot prints in their wake, having to walk through the pool of blood that quickly grew larger and larger. Ellis made her way down the corridors, trying to survive the carnage. She saw the bloody boot prints and followed them backwards. That was when she spotted Frank's corpse. She ran over to him and dropped her sword, kneeling down by him.

  This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.

  “No, no, no, no, no.” Was all her brain could muster up. She grabbed him in a hug and sobbed her eyes out. Suddenly, a bullet flew over her head. Ceasing her crying, Ellis released Frank and grabbed his gun. Aiming blindly, she fired. The bullet flew for its target and hit the agent in the throat. He gasped and clutched at his wound, blood squirting through his fingers. He collapsed to the floor and writhed about in agony, painting the floor in blood. Ellis slowly walked over to him and pointed the gun, shooting the dying agent in the face. The flesh ruptured and blood spattered itself onto Ellis' face. She panted, a quiet rage present on her face. She pointed the gun at the corpse and fired at it until the magazine was empty and its face was nothing more than a bloody mess. Ellis dropped the gun and walked over to her sword, picking it up. She quickly made her way down the corridors. An agent jumped out at her, but she quickly swiped her blade across his neck, decapitating him. The headless corpse stumbled for a second before slumping down onto the floor, pouring out a pool of blood. Ellis continued forward and faced two agents. She swiped her sword down, taking one of their arms. He bellowed in abject agony, spurting out blood onto the wall. Ellis immediately swiped her sword upwards, opening up the second agent's neck. Swiping her sword again not one second later, she sliced open the second agent's face. Both corpses collapsed to the floor, almost simultaneously. Ellis continued forward, leaving a trail of dead bodies in her wake. She came up to the main room and saw the carnage going on. Corpses littered the place and the floor was nothing more than blood. The small group of surviving henchmen fought for their lives, firing their guns. Artificis slashed through agents like weeds, them being no competition for him. Ellis went down the stairs, joining the fight. She slashed through the agents, kicking their corpses down the stairs. She moved forward, not seeming at all fatigued, fuelled by the death of Frank. She slashed through another, and another, and another. No one survived her unbridled rage. Artificis collapsed to his knees, surrounded by his enemies. Suddenly, the battle stopped and everything was quiet. Ellis looked on as he panted, almost on the verge of collapsing. His suit was torn to shreds, his slashed shirt was stained with blood. More blood ran down his hands, trickling onto the floor. He suddenly dropped his sword and groaned as he used the remainder of his strength to stand up.

  “Okay, fine.” He suddenly said to them. “You want to know who I am?! Alright, I'll show you!” He took his spectacles off, revealing his white, blind eye. There was a long and thick scar running down it. He suddenly threw the spectacles over to an agent. “There's a souvenir for you!”

  Ellis and the surviving henchmen looked on in shock, finally seeing what horror laid behind their master's veil. Artificis pulled off his mask, revealing his face which was riddled with scars. There was a hole where his nose should have been, the result of a stab wound. He threw his mask down to another agent.

  “And one for you!” Reaching behind his suit, he drew out two large daggers. “Come on then!” He suddenly shouted, his war-ridden face alive with fury, his pent-up rage for MI5 finally boiling over. “Who will have enough balls to face me?!”

  Two agents ran for him, daggers in their hands, but he quickly took care of them. Another went to attack him, but Artificis killed him as well. He killed another, and another, but quickly slumped down to his knees, out of breath. The agents converged on him all at once, quickly stabbing him to death. Artificis dropped face first, blood flowing out from under his corpse. Ellis suddenly roared in rage and before the henchmen could stop her, she charged for the agents. One of them grabbed one of Artificis' fallen daggers and deflected the attack. Ellis fought him with a burning rage, but her anger cost her greatly. The agent thrust out the dagger, sticking it into her chest. She gasped and collapsed to her knees, blood soaking into her suit. The agent panted, eyes wide in shock that he had managed to wound her. He released the handle, leaving the blade inside her, and Ellis slumped to the side, then onto her back, and did not move. The surviving henchmen all looked at each other in shock and made a unanimous decision. They turned, making a dash for it. With their mission complete, the agents all left the scene.